But wasn’t that authorization supposed to be temporary, pending a declaration of war by the Congress?
Seems to me the War Powers Act of 1973 or an updated version would apply. Maybe the Patriot Act changed all that.
Regardless, it sounds like you are more familiar with these details than I am. This is a very frustrating situation we face here.
The Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) passed in the wake of 9-11 was not time limited, and was the basis for most of our Military operations overseas since. Beyond Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria; we have operated in dozens of other countries, like Yemen, Somalia, Libya and Niger.
The immigration problem we face is dishonest politicians who deceitfully work to ensure illegal mass immigration through many means - loopholes like broad asylum exceptions, incentives like education, medical services and welfare, denying resources for effective enforcement (like walls), and policies like catch and release, no detention of minors or family separation, and lengthy (years) hearing and appeal processes for deportation.